Writers Guild of America East president Tom Fontana skewered CBS News leadership on Thursday for being anti-journalism following the recent layoffs at “60 Minutes” and the subsequent fallout.
“Like many of you, I have been alarmed by recent developments at CBS News. In the past year, CBS has enacted cruel and needless layoffs across the organization and shuttered CBS News Radio,” Fontana wrote. “In addition, based on a string of public reporting and confidential reports from WGAE members, it is clear that CBS brass is engaged in a near-constant level of editorial interference that would have previously been unthinkable.”
“Over the course of the last few weeks, CBS has laid off or fired multiple newsroom workers and journalists, most recently Scott Pelley; CBS management is apparently too thin-skinned to handle the honest scrutiny of their own journalists,” he continued. “These assaults on CBS News, an institution of American journalism for nearly a century, are more than mere ideological interference with the news. They display a profound contempt for the journalism profession, for our members who have dedicated their lives to informing the public about the world, and for the ethics that underpin true journalism, chief among them honesty, integrity and objectivity.”
Without naming editor in chief Bari Weiss, president Tom Cibrowski, new “60 Minutes” executive producer Nick Bilton nor Paramount CEO David Ellison, Fontana made sure to support the remaining employees at their news network.
“To our friends and colleagues at CBS News: we see you, and you are not alone,” his message concluded. “Thousands of your union brothers, sisters and siblings have your backs. We stand shoulder to shoulder with you now, we will be there with you when this difficult time in American life passes, and we will help you build what comes next.”
In addition to longtime correspondent Pelley, Cecilia Vega, Sharyn Alfonsi and former EP Tanya Simon were all let go in the last week. At the moment, only Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim remain on-camera.
Since his firing, Pelley and Weiss have publicly shared differing accounts of the meeting that led to his termination — with the former even accusing the latter of lying about the circumstances.
Either way, “60 Minutes” is still slated to return for Season 59 this fall on CBS.
